2016 NBA Playoffs Preview: Western Conference — Can the Warriors Be Stopped?

The 2016 NBA Playoffs started on Saturday. Most pundits have the Warriors and Spurs meeting in the Western Conference Finals. Find out which team could keep that from happening.

WESTERN CONFERENCE PLAYOFF PREVIEW

Getty Images

The Team To Beat: Golden State Warriors
The prevailing wisdom is that Golden State and San Antonio will meet in the Western Conference Finals. Hell, they should probably just play for the NBA title right now. Well, one of them will: the Warriors.

Golden State set the NBA record for regular-season wins with 73 and are good enough to beat every other team, even if the ankle Steph Curry injured in Saturday’s opening game against Houston continues to nag him. It would take injuries (plural), a shooting slump and a supreme effort by another team for the Warriors to fall. Possible, but not probable.

Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes and Draymond Green are more than Curry’s supporting cast, and Golden State's depth stretches to its bench. Houston, L.A. and Portland have little chance of stopping the Warriors' march to the Western Conference Finals. The Spurs or Thunder? We’ll just have to wait and see.

The Dark Horse Pick: Oklahoma City Thunder
The Thunder has become the forgotten team in the West thanks to the rise of the Warriors and the Spurs. Russell Westbrook (23.5 ppg, 10.4 apg) and Kevin Durant (28.2 ppg, 8.2 rpg) are still a dangerous duo capable of fueling their team to a deep playoff run. Oklahoma City has the offense most able to match Golden State’s — and certainly one that’s too much for Dallas in the first round. If the Spurs can’t keep up, it could be an OKC-Golden State finals. They might need to add a digit to the scoreboard.

Most Likely To Disappoint: Los Angeles Clippers
The Clippers ended the regular season on a 9-1 tear and look to be in prime playoff shape. Still, Los Angeles can’t feel great about drawing a scrappy Trail Blazers team with a high-powered offense and nothing to lose. For the Clippers' fifth straight postseason appearance to not end in tears this soon, Blake Griffin (21.4 ppg, 8.4 rpg) and DeAndre Jordan (12.7 ppg, 13.8 rpg) need to dominate Portland’s no-name frontcourt.

Houston’s Dwight Howard (13.7 ppg, 11.8 rpg) isn’t the franchise player he once was, but he must perform at an All-Star level for the Rockets to somehow compete with Golden State… San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard (21.2 ppg, 6.8 rpg) might have won an MVP if not for Steph Curry. He should lead the Spurs past injury-plagued Memphis and into a clash against OKC’s dynamic duo…Speaking of which, Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook is a stat-sheet monster. He’s also athletic enough to challenge the best defenders and shooters…Portland’s Damian Lillard (25.1 ppg, 6.9 apg) has found a backcourt mate in C.J. McCollum (20.9 ppg, 4.3 apg). Between them, the Blazers can challenge any team in the West. They probably don’t have enough talent to win more than one series, though.